YORK City Knights rattled up another massive score at Bootham Crescent to go top of Betfred League One - but head coach James Ford said he was just as proud of keeping a clean sheet at the other end.

The Knights scored 16 tries and 13 goals as they hammered Hemel Stags 90-0 to go back above Bradford Bulls on points-difference, dual-reg half-back Matty Marsh finishing with four touchdowns and local favourite Ash Robson three.

It was the third biggest win in York RL history and followed just three weeks after their world record 144-0 thrashing of West Wales Raiders in their previous home match.

But while Ford was cheered by their "value for money" in attack as they bagged a ninth straight league win, he also lauded the defensive efforts which were back on track after some below-par spells in the last two wins at Hunslet and Coventry.

"I thought we were really good for large parts of the game," he said.

"We showed character when defending three or four sets on our line and we dealt with some things that went against. I was proud of that.

"I thought we played pretty quick with lots of shape and movement. We were pretty ruthless."

On the fact Ford's class of 2018 now have two of the top three biggest wins in York RL history, the head coach said: "What gave me pride was defending four sets on our line and keeping a side who can play with the ball to zero points.

"The stuff you work hard for in life is worth more. We worked hard to keep a side to zero and that's got to mean something to the players - it definitely means something to me."

The Knights maintained the pace until the end of the match, restarting play quickly at every opportunity, even when the game was over as a contest.

Ford said the supporters deserved that level of intensity from their team.

He explained: "We want to play every minute of every game as hard as we can.

"We respect the competition and the other teams and we don't want to take it easy at any point - that would be disrespectful.

"We also respect the supporters. They've been to work all week and this is part of their weekend enjoyment so we have a responsibility to perform at a level that gives good value for money."

Ford's troops looked to be enjoying themselves on the pitch with some scintillating team play.

Said Ford: "We always want to have fun. We work hard - really hard.

"We're driven to improve and our standards are high. But we always have fun.

"Whether it's in team meetings, reviews, previews, in our training, in the karaoke on the bus - we have to enjoy our work.

"We're a very serious organisation but enjoying what we do is important."

Ford warned, however, that being top at this time of year won no prizes, only temporary plaudits.

"It's nice that the players will get some recognition for being top. But nobody gets promoted after round 10," he said.

"I would not be overly worried if we weren't top at this stage of the season. We will still focus on being a better side next week than we were this week."

l York City Knights Ladies lost to Featherstone Rovers 40-12 in the Women's Super League.

The match was played at Bootham Crescent as part of a double-header, taking place after the men's team's Betfred League One rout of Hemel Stags. A full report will feature in The Press later in the week.